The winners for the 2024 Rawlings Gold Glove were revealed Sunday night by Major League Baseball.
The Gold Glove award has been around since 1957, crowning the best defensive player at each position in each league. It was initially an MLB-wide honor, but in 1958 it was divided up into AL and NL. Also, there was a stretch where three outfielders per league won the honor instead of splitting up the three specific outfield positions, but now it's back to left field, center field and right field, respectively, in each league.
Winners are determined by votes by managers and coaches (75%) and a SABR-provided statistical component (25%). Team employees are forbidden from voting for their own players,
While MLB released "finalists" for the award a few weeks back, remember that the voting was already complete and the finalists are simply the top three finishers at each position. This means, obviously, postseason performance had no impact.
Onto the winners.
American League
Lugo wins his first Gold Glove and joins Bret Saberhagan (1989) as the only Royals pitchers to ever bring home this particular piece of hardware.
Other finalists: Griffin Canning, Angels; Cole Ragans, Royals
Catcher: Cal Raleigh, Mariners
This marks the first career Gold Glove for Raleigh here in his fourth season. He scores out as one of the best framers in baseball and is above average at throwing out would-be basestealers.
Other finalists: Freddy Fermin, Royals; Jake Rogers, Tigers
First base: Carlos Santana, Twins
The former catcher wins his first career Gold Glove. He is now the oldest position player to ever win his first Gold Glove, per Sarah Langs. He's also the third-oldest player to ever win one, period, behind pitchers Phil Niekro and R.A. Dickey.
Other finalists: Nathaniel Lowe, Rangers; Ryan Mountcastle, Orioles
Second base: Andrés Giménez, Guardians
He wins his third straight Gold Glove. Last year, he won the Platinum Glove, given to the best best overall defender by league. He again ranks as one of the single best defenders in baseball in things like outs above average.
Other finalists: Nicky Lopez, White Sox; Marcus Semien, Rangers
Third base: Alex Bregman, Astros
Believe it or not, this is Bregman's first career Gold Glove. Range and sure-handedness are the strengths here.
Other finalists: Ernie Clement, Blue Jays; José Ramírez, Guardians
Shortstop: Bobby Witt Jr., Royals
The likely AL MVP finalist wins his first career Gold Glove. The eye test says he was deserving and is going to compile plenty of these in his career.
Other finalists: Brayan Rocchio, Guardians; Anthony Volpe, Yankees
Left field: Steven Kwan, Guardians
Kwan wins his third straight Gold Glove. As an outfielder, he has obvious range, but Kwan's arm strength for left field is off the charts. It isn't just the nine assists, it is preventing runners from even attempting to take another base.
Other finalists: Colton Cowser, Orioles; Alex Verdugo, Yankees
Center field: Daulton Varsho, Blue Jays
Varsho was a part-time catcher only a few years ago and now wins his first Gold Glove as a center fielder, a remarkable transition. In addition to displaying outstanding range, Varsho only committed two errors all season.
Other finalists: Jarren Duran, Red Sox; Jake Meyers, Astros
Right field: Wilyer Abreu, Red Sox
Abreu takes the hardware for the first time. The rookie racked up nine assists and 17 defensive runs saved, the top mark among MLB outfielders.
Other finalists: Jo Adell, Angels; Juan Soto, Yankees
Utility: Dylan Moore, Mariners
Moore wins his first Gold Glove. He played at least 22 games at shortstop, third base, second base and left field. He also saw time at first and in center field, making like a true Swiss Army Knife with a glove.
Other finalists: Willi Castro, Twins; Mauricio Dubón, Astros
National League
Pitcher: Chris Sale, Braves
Sale wins his first career Gold Glove in the same season when he's likely to win his first Cy Young here at age 35.
Other finalists: Luis Severino, Mets; Zack Wheeler, Phillies
Catcher: Patrick Bailey, Giants
Bailey wins his first Gold Glove. He's among the best framers in baseball and even ranks as the single best framer by some metrics. He also caught 26 basestealers.
Other finalists: Gabriel Moreno, Diamondbacks; Will Smith, Dodgers
First base: Christian Walker, Diamondbacks
It is the third straight Gold Glove for Walker. He's as good as it gets over there in terms of range and bailing out his fellow infielders by digging throws.
Other finalists: Bryce Harper, Phillies; Matt Olson, Braves
Second base: Brice Turang, Brewers
The MLB leader in defensive runs saved among infielders takes his first Gold Glove at age 24 and was a big part of the Brewers' surprise NL Central title.
Other finalists: Ketel Marte, Diamondbacks; Bryson Stott, Phillies
Third base: Matt Chapman, Giants
Chapman wins his fifth career Gold Glove, though first on the NL side. Chapman is a two-time Platinum Glove winner and is still generally regarded as the gold standard at the hot corner in the majors.
Other finalists: Nolan Arenado, Cardinals; Ryan McMahon, Rockies
Shortstop: Ezequiel Tovar, Rockies
He wins his first Gold Glove. He's a human highlight reel at short, exhibiting exceptional range.
Other finalists: Dansby Swanson, Cubs; Masyn Winn, Cardinals
Left field: Ian Happ, Cubs
Happ wins his third consecutive Gold Glove. He's a veteran at the diving catch along with a good left-field arm.
Other finalists: Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Diamondbacks; Brandon Marsh, Phillies
Center field: Brenton Doyle, Rockies
Doyle wins his second consecutive Gold Glove. He ranks above the 98th percentile in both range and arm strength and both of those are huge in the spacious Coors Field outfield.
Other finalists: Blake Perkins, Brewers; Jacob Young, Nationals
Right field: Sal Frelick, Brewers
Frelick is yet another first-time winner, covering a ton of ground as he's one of the fastest players in the league. He teams that with a great arm.
Other finalists: Jake McCarthy, Diamondbacks; Mike Yastrzemski, Giants
Utility: Jared Triolo, Pirates
Triolo wins his first Gold Glove. He saw a lot of time at second and third but also filled in at first base, shortstop and right field.
Other finalists: Brendan Donovan, Cardinals; Enrique Hernández, Dodgers
